England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and they've proven why."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
